


Maybe It’s Love

by JeanKirsnickerdoodle



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Basically the plotline of Bologna but like... not, Bologna Incident, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fuck you in particular my kind sir, Gen, Highschool AU, I named a teacher after my girlfriend, It’s probably shit I’m sorry, M/M, Modern AU, My First Work in This Fandom, No supernatural stuff I’m sorry, Please give constructive criticism, Travis’ dad can suck my left nut, anyway, love you babe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 21:34:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17373692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeanKirsnickerdoodle/pseuds/JeanKirsnickerdoodle
Summary: Sal’s spent a year being tormented by him: Travis Phelps. It seems like everywhere Sal goes, Travis is there with a new slur or insult. But when a fed - up teacher finally forces them into a month-long assignment to get to know and befriend one another, well... who knows what could happen?





	1. Chapter 1

Look, Ash, how many times have I said that you aren’t gonna hook me up with a guy? The last two times you tried to, it ended in disaster. I’m not risking it a third time.”

“It’s not my fault you didn’t work out with Larry or Chug!”

“Chug isn’t even gay, Ashley!”

“It was worth a try...”

“You’re lucky Maple was pissing herself with laughter instead of being offended by you trying to hook me up with her boyfriend.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Sal shook his head in bemusement as he and Ashley reached their lockers. This was the third time today that she had brought up his so-called “desperate” need of a boyfriend, and at this rate, Sal had just stopped listening to her. He put his math book into his locker and brought out his history one, along with a scrunchie. Sal recognized it as one that had been in a care package the group had given him for Christmas that previous year, and smiled. He thought about his pigtails, tied with his two everyday rubber bands, and then looked back at the scrunchie. He hadn’t done a ponytail before.

“Ash, let me see your mirror.”

She gave it to him while complaining about her limited options of proper suitors for Sal, whatever the hell that meant. He tuned her out again while taking out his pigtails and finger combing his hair back. Looking in the mirror to make sure his hair was fairly smooth, Sal tied it all back into a ponytail, and fastened it with the scrunchie. Looking at himself with pride, Sal admired the new hairstyle thoughtfully, before wetting his fingers and pulling out two small strands of baby hair so they curled around his face. Smiling, he turned back to Ash, who was still blabbering on about how maybe Rob in his building would do, if Sal was into older men.

“Ash! I’m not gonna go out with Rob!”

“Sal, desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s either Rob or Larry again.”

“Rob has a girlfriend that he met at a Three Day’s Grace concert, and dating Larry was just... weird. He’s like my brother - it’d be like dating you.”

They both paused and thought about it for a minute.

“I mean, we would work -“

“Ashley.”

“What? Nice ponytail by the way.”

“I actually hate you, you know that?”

“Love you too, kiddo.”

They both shut their lockers and turned to go to class beforenoticing that the buzz of the crowd in their hallway had stopped, and that everybody was now whispering behind their hands to each other.

There was only one person who that Sal knew who could do that to the school.

Travis Phelps. Otherwise known as his main tormentor, his arch - enemy of sorts.

This would be fun.

Ash sighed and leaned against her locker, crossing her arms.

“I wish he would just go away.”

Before Sal could say anything else, Travis came into their view, strutting down the hall and soaking up the attention he was getting like it was water and he was a plant that hadn’t gotten watered in weeks.

Ash scoffed softly and whispered, “What a prick.”

Sal flinched, but not at what Ash had said - on the contrary, he agreed with her. But Travis had somehow heard her, and now he was glaring daggers at the both of them.

“What was that you said, Aaaaashley?” He drawled, slowly walking up to them until he was right in front of them.

“I said-“

BAM! Travis slammed his fist against the locker door above Sal’s head, causing Sal to jump, but Ash had no reaction.

“I said you were a prick, fuckface. Problem?” Ash asked cooly, looking Travis in the eye.

Travis scoffed and shook his head, looking down at his shoes. Then he looked up and said, “Yeah, actually, I do have a problem. My problem is you, Michael Myers here -“ his finger jabbed Sal’s chest as his voice rose in volume “- and your band of freaks running around these hallways like you own the place!”

“Better us than you, water boy,” Ash said smugly as Sal stifled a laugh.

Travis’s face grew bright red, and he opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish. It was no secret that when Travis went to try out for their football team, the coach had proclaimed him the “worst athlete he had ever seen,” and told him it wasn’t going to work out, but that he could still be water boy. Travis had kept his head low for a day or two after that, clearly embarrassed, but apparently that welcome behavior had ended.

“You - you know what, losers?!” Travis spat, looking around him wildly. Ash’s smug smile never left her, knowing her comment had gotten to Travis.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Ash purred. “You seem upset.”

This seemed to push him over the edge, and he snarled “Fuck you!” before grabbing Sal’s mask and ripping it off his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Sal’s hands flew up to hide his face as Ash screamed, “Aw, what the FUCK?” before throwing herself in front of Sal to shield him from the curious glances of the hall crowd. Travis chuckled and raised the mask above his head, yelling, “Look at him! Look at-“ But he got cut off by the blur that was a pissed off Larry, flying at him from seemingly nowhere.

“NO!” Sal exclaimed, peering through his fingers at Larry and Travis, who were rolling around on the floor, throwing punches at each other.

“Sal, babe, I need you to focus on me. Don’t worry about them right now, okay? Larry’s got it,” Ash said in a soothing tone, her slender fingers flying over Sal’s face, making he was okay.

“Ash, I’m fine, but Larry -“

“Sal, take down your hands.”

“No! Are you crazy?”

“You’re bleeding, take your hands down. Travis must have scraped one of your cuts with the mask and reopened it.”

“It’s just a scratch, it’s fine, I’ll deal with it at home.”

“There’s five periods left in the day, I’m not gonna leave you with blood pouring down your face.”

“Ash, everyone’ll see-“

“No they won’t.”

Sal and Ash looked up at Maple and Chug, who had just jogged up to them. Through the thin cracks between his fingers, Sal could see that Chug was panting with his hands on his knees, and Maple was holding a towel and deliberately looking at the floor, away from his face.

Maple continued her previous sentence softly, saying, “I know you aren’t ready to show everyone, so me and Chug can hold the towel around you guys while she takes care of you. If there’s anyone you can show, Sal, it’s Ashley. We won’t look, I promise.” Chug nodded.

Ashley grabbed Maple’s hand and whispered, “Thank you.” Maple smiled and gave one end of the towel to Chug as they spread out, cocooning Ash and Sal from the rest of the hallway.

“Sal, you have to take down your hands now. Okay?”

He looked into Ashley’s eyes and nodded hesitantly before squeezing his eyes shut and lowering his hands. Almost instantly he felt Ashley’s cold hands on his cheeks; he hissed and pulled away.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just, he reopened a few cuts under your left eye - I’m gonna get a tissue and try to stop the blood flow, okay?”

Sal nodded, his eyes still shut. He felt her hold a papery tissue to his cheek, holding down on it.

“Chug, are Larry and Travis still fighting?” Ashley asked.

“Oh, yeah, they’re really going at it! I wish I had popcorn right now.”

There was a rustling sound outside of the towel.

“Gee, thanks Maple!! How’d you know?”

“I’ve been dating you for three months.”

Ash let out a small chuckle and pulled the tissue away from Sal’s face.

“The blood flow is definitely slowing, which is good. You good, Sal?”

“I’m okay.”

“Okay. Can you open your eyes please? You’re squeezing your eyes and it’s making your cheeks tense.”

“Ash -“

“Sal, it’s okay,” she soothed.

He slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see disgust painted all over Ash’s face. Instead, all he saw was concern. However, the moment he opened his eyes, she broke into a wide smile. “Good,” she breathed, reassessing the wound.

“Ash, why aren’t you, like... looking away?”

“What?”

“My face. Why aren’t you looking away?”

Her face softened and she took Sal’s face in her hands.

“It’s your face, Sal. Why the hell would I look away?”

A single tear dripped down his face, and he wiped it away. Ash pulled away and grabbed another tissue, resuming her work at trying to stop the blood flow.

“Chug, status on the fight?”

“Larry’s got him pinned down and he’s just wailing on Travis.”

“Wait, what?!”

Sal lunged forward to peer beyond the towel’s edge, between it and Chug’s thigh. Through the throng of people that were still there, he could see Larry, who was holding Travis to the ground and repeatedly punching him.

“Oh my god,” Sal whispered, not sure if he should be worried for Travis or happy that he was getting what he deserved.

“Sal, what’s going on?” Ash asked quietly, her hand still holding the tissue to his cheek. Before he could answer, he heard a new voice shout over the excited noise of the crowd.

“All right, break it up!”

Sal smiled as a mop of ginger hair came into view, Ash asking, “Is that Todd?” He nodded.

Todd clapped his hands a few times, trying to get everyone’s attention, but when nobody noticed, he sighed, brought out a whistle, and blew it.

PHWEEEEEEEEEEE!

Everyone stopped talking to look at him - even Larry held back on punching Travis for a minute to look behind him at Todd, impassive. While he was distracted, Travis threw his fist at Larry, getting him square in the jaw, and then they were at it again.

“Hey, hey, HEY! Larry!” Todd yelled, crouching and trying to hold both of the boys apart from each other with a hand on their chests. Neil - who had arrived with Todd - quickly grabbed Larry around the shoulders, preventing him from hitting Travis again. “What’s going on?”

The crowd stayed silent, reluctant to tell Todd what happened.

“Larry?”

“He ripped Sal’s mask off of his face,” Larry said darkly, blood streaming out of his nose as he thrashed against Neil’s grip. Todd’s face hardened and he looked towards Chug and Maple, evidently inferring that that was where Sal was.

“Where is the mask, Travis?” Todd said cooly.

“Listen, you little fag -“

“WHERE IS IT?” Todd yelled, causing both Larry and Travis to jump. Travis stared at Todd for a moment before scoffing and pulling it out from the side of his shirt. Todd took it, stood up, and said, “Pathetic.” Then he turned to Neil and whispered something as Neil nodded, before Todd turned away and started walking towards Sal, Chug, Maple, and Ashley.

“Sal, I have your mask -“

“Thank you, Todd,” Sal whispered, grabbing the mask that was being offered over the towel.

“You’re welcome, Sally Face. Can I do anything else?”

“I don’t think so...”

Maple turned to Todd and said softly, “Actually, can you hold the towel for me? I have something to do.”

There was a shift, indicating that they had switched spots, and Sal peeked out from the towel again to see Maple marching towards where Neil, Larry, and Travis were. Neil seemed to be dabbing at Larry’s nose with a tissue while holding an ice pack to his jawline, while Travis was picking himself off the ground. Sal watched as Maple went up to Travis and held out a hand to help him up.

“What is she doing?” Todd whispered, also watching her. Ash, who was patting the open wound on Sal’s cheek a few last times before they put the mask back on, asked absentmindedly, “What’s going on?”

None of the boys answered her, choosing instead to keep watching Maple as she helped Travis to his feet and steadied him. Then she smiled at him - much to everyone’s confusion - before saying, “Travis?”

Clearly confused, but happy and smug with the kindness she was offering, Travis said, “What?”

Rather than answer him, Maple backhanded him across the face with a loud “SMACK!”

Travis stumbled backward and fell as Maple marched toward him and seized a handful of his shirt, getting in his face. “Stay away from my friends,” she said, loud enough for the whole hallway to hear, before turning and walking back to the group, accompanied by Larry and Neil, both of whom were laughing.

When they all got back to the group, Todd and Ashley high fived her, and Chug gave her a sloppy kiss. Sal squeezed her hand over the towel, and Maple chuckled softly, squeezing back.

“Holy fuck, Sal!” Sal heard Larry yell before there was a tussle outside the towel and he came sliding in.

“Larry, what are you doing?” Sal exclaimed, quickly turning towards Ash and covering his face with his hands.

“Sal, what the fuck, you were bleeding?” Larry said, spotting the pile of bloody tissues that had been forming.

“Larry, get out of here, I have to put on the mask.”

“No, fuck that, Sal. Look at me.”

And he did.

Sal turned towards Larry and slowly let his hands down, and Larry didn’t look away.

Just like Ash.

“Damn, he got your cheek good. What happened? Scraped your face with the mask?”

Sal nodded dumbly, trying to find his voice. “Larry, you aren’t looking aw-“

“Shut up, squirt,” Larry said gruffly, grabbing Sal in a fierce hug. “Love you man, I really do.”

Sal smiled and said, “I love you too.”

There was a beat of silence before Ash whispered, “You guys should fuck.”

Fierce protests and loud exclamations broke up the small feeling of peace and animosity in the group as Ash threw her head back and cackled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer of a chapter this time.... I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> (I don’t know what sound a whistle makes just bear with me)


	3. Chapter 3

**“**

“Hey, does anyone have bandages?”

There was a rustling outside of the towel, and a small hand reached in with a handful of bandages and some antiseptic wipes.

“Thanks, Maple.”

Ash unwrapped a few wipes and said, “Warning, this is gonna sting a bit.”

“Okay,” Sal said, wanting to get it over with so he could get his damn mask back on.

Ash gently patted the scratches with the wipe as Sal hissed and squeezed her hand. In the meantime, Larry was standing up, giving them a running commentary of what was going on behind the curtain.

“Everyone’s leaving... that’s probably good, since the bell rang like thirty minutes ago... they can’t put everyone in detention, though, so I guess we aren’t getting punished... Travis is just laying on the ground? He looks like he’s having a crisis... good for him. Oh, here comes a teacher.”

Ash sighed and said, “We’d better hurry,” while patting Sal’s cheek with the wipes a few more times. Then she hurriedly unwrapped a few bandages and smoothed them over the open cuts, which had finally stopped bleeding.

“Okay, okay, mask mask mask,” Ash said hurriedly as Larry tossed to her.

She gave it to Sal and held the face part in place while he fastened the straps just above and below his ponytail, which had somehow miraculously stayed in place throughout the whole ordeal.

“Maple, Chug, we’re clear.”

Chug handed the corner of the towel he was holding over to Maple so she could fold it up, and then turned to help up the three of them. Finally getting to his feet, Sal looked towards the hall to find that the crowd had mostly dispersed, and that Todd and Neil were talking to a teacher he had never seen before, their arms around each other’s waists. Travis was still laying on the ground, like Larry had said. As Sal stared, Travis slowly turned his head toward him and sneered, but the usual fight and malice behind it was gone, replaced by more of a weary surrender. Sal turned away.

Todd and Neil came walking back to them hand in hand, and as they grew nearer, Neil said softly, “Mrs. Allison is going to take Travis to the office. Larry, she wants you to come, too. She said that if she could, she would only take Travis, but she knows he’s gonna blame you for jumping him first.”

Sal looked behind them to see the teacher - Mrs. Allison - helping Travis sit up and speaking to him in a soft voice.

Larry nodded, his mouth in a grim line. “That’s fair. I can’t be mad at her for that.”

A bit away, Mrs. Allison called, “I’m going to take Travis and give you all a minute, okay? Larry, come along when you’re ready.”

Larry nodded again and shot her a small smile, receiving one back. She led Travis away, still talking to him in a soothing voice. Sal strained to hear what she was saying, but could only make out a few words and phrases.

“......at home.......father......can’t take it out.......sorry.”

Confused, Sal stared at the two, noticing that Todd seemed to be the only other one in the group that had heard their conversation.. “I wonder what they’re talking about,” he murmured, nudging Sal with his elbow. Sal shrugged and turned back to the group, who had all been cleaning up the medical supplies used to treat Sal and Larry.

When they noticed that Sal and Todd had turned around, the group went quiet. Ash came up to Sal, grabbed his shoulders, and asked, “You okay, Sal?” with a small twinkle in her eye. Sal nodded and whispered, “Thank you,” before looking at everyone and speaking up.

“Thank you, guys.”

“Awwwwww, we love you, kiddo,” Larry said while catching him in another fierce hug and picking him up.

“Larry - can’t breathe,” Sal wheezed as Larry squeezed him.

”It’s okay, he’s just showing he loves you,” Ash sighed whimsically as Larry set Sal down and everyone turned to stare at her.

“Look, point is, we all love you to pieces Sal. Always remember that, okay?”

“Okay,” Sal said, his voice wobbly as the group grabbed him in a giant hug while chorusing things like, “Awww!” and “We love youuuuu!” A few hot tears dripped from his eyes down to the end of the mask, falling onto Neil’s shoulder.

“Well, I guess I’d better go...” Larry said, reluctantly detaching himself from the group. They all nodded, their arms still around each other.

“I’ll see you losers later,” Larry said, smiling crookedly before saluting them and walking off, his hands in his pockets.

Sal buried his face into the crook of Maple’s neck as they all squeezed each other tighter, alone in the middle of the hall.

Suddenly the bell rang, startling all of them.

“Aww, man, we missed lunch,” Chug whimpered piteously, breaking up the group with laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter today!! Thank you for all of the reviews you guys are giving, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy lol


	4. Chapter 4

>  
> 
> “Dad, I’m home!” Sal called, slinging his backpack over the arm of the couch. He peered into his dad’s room, and rapped his knuckles on the bathroom door.
> 
> “Dad...?”
> 
> He should be home by now, Sal mused, heading to the kitchen. Then he stopped short, taken aback by the strange scene.
> 
> “...Travis?”
> 
> And it WAS Travis - standing against the stove talking to Sal’s dad, like it was an everyday occurrence, like they weren’t enemies. At the sound of his voice, Travis turned around, and Sal stifled a gasp at the sight of his face - it looked like Travis had been put through a meat processor. Bruises littered his face to the point that it seemed his skin was naturally a mottled variant of blue and purple, and he had a rag tied around his head with the faint stain of blood seeping through it.
> 
> Larry really went for it, Sal thought.
> 
> “Sal, hey, buddy!” Henry said before Travis could talk. He reached out to clasp Sal on the shoulder and continued, “The school made Travis come here to apologize for, er - ripping off your mask. Isn’t that neat?”
> 
> There was a short beat of silence in which Sal and Travis just stared at each other.
> 
> “We- ell,” Henry chuckled awkwardly, “Why don’t y’all go into Sal’s room to discuss this? In a more private setting.”
> 
> Sal’s head whipped around in furious protest, as well as Travis’.
> 
> “Dad, are you sure -?”
> 
> “Mr. Fisher, please -“
> 
> “Now,” Sal’s dad said firmly.
> 
> Sighing in defeat, Sal beckoned Travis with his head and trudged into his room, with Travis reluctantly following him.
> 
> The minute the door closed, Travis spat, “Listen, if this is one of your faggot schemes to get into my pants-“
> 
> “You heard my dad, Travis,” Sal sighed, “He’s the one who orchestrated this.”
> 
> “So he’s a fag like you, then?”
> 
> A rush of anger filled Sal until he swore he was seeing red. He gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t say that about him. Ever.”
> 
> Travis raised his hands and shook his head, smirking.
> 
> “Whatever you say, loser.”
> 
> Sal chose to ignore that, sitting on his bed and smoothing out the covers.
> 
> “Aren’t you supposed to be here to apologize?” Sal asked pointedly, fidgeting with his mask.
> 
> “Pfft, for what? Hurting Sawwy Baby’s feewings?”
> 
> “For ripping off my mask, making me bleed for thirty minutes, and for punching Larry.”
> 
> “Did you see what that twerp did to me?”
> 
> “That ‘twerp’ was defending me after you started the fight.”
> 
> “Just cause your boyfriend was valiantly ‘defending you’, it doesn’t mean that he had reason to beat the shit out of me.”
> 
> “And what was your reason for ripping off my mask?”
> 
> Another awkward beat of silence in which Travis looked down at his shoes sullenly. After a moment, Sal sighed again.
> 
> “Look, just do what you came here to do, and get out. Neither of us are enjoying this, and we both know you aren’t sorry anyway, so can you at least pretend to apologize?”
> 
> Travis stayed silent.
> 
> “I’ll tell Mrs. A.”
> 
> At this, Travis scoffed, and muttered, “What is she gonna do? Give me detention?”
> 
> “Call your parents,” Sal replied evenly.
> 
> Travis’ head shot up and his eyes went wide as he whispered, “No, no, she can’t do that.”
> 
> “Why is that such a big deal to you?” Sal asked, genuinely curious.
> 
> Travis stayed silent and started twirling his hands around the other.
> 
> “Are you scared?” Sal whispered.
> 
> At this, Travis’ head shot up, and he laughed, mirthless.
> 
> “No, I’m not scared, right? I just care about disappointing my dad. Why do you care, anyway? I know you have a crush on me but you could at least try to be less obvious.”
> 
> Sal sighed and said, “Travis -“
> 
> “Listen - I - I’m sorry, okay? Don’t tell Mrs. A, please. Just don’t,” Travis said, almost pleadingly.
> 
> “Chill, I’m not going to. Why are you acting so weird?”
> 
> “It’s none of your business! Listen, I have to go,” Travis said hurriedly before rushing from the room.
> 
> “Wait -“ Sal called, getting up to run after him, but by the time he got out of his room, Travis had already left the apartment.
> 
> He rushed to the window overlooking the front of Addison Apartments, and after a few minutes, saw Travis trudging down the driveway, hunched over with his hands in his pockets. The wind blew his hair back and for a split second he thought he saw Travis’ face - tears streaming down his face and his cheeks red from the cold - but before Sal could do a double take,
> 
> Travis was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the likes and comments!!! They honestly make my day :)) I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!!


	5. Chapter 5

“He just ran out?”

“Yeah, man, it was weird,” Sal said, shaking his head as he settled further into Larry’s couch.

“Huh. Maybe he just doesn’t want his dad to be ashamed of him?” Ash wondered, using her feet to propel herself in slow circles on Lisa’s desk chair.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m glad mom understood WHY I did it. But if she heard I started the fight -“

“Your ass would be grounded for the rest of your life, and you know it!” Lisa called from the kitchen.

Sal chuckled softly as Larry smiled and turned back towards the other two.

“Yeah, that.”

“Maybe there’s something else we don’t know...” Ash mused, still spinning in circles on the chair. Suddenly she bolted up, knocking the chair, and herself, over in the process.

“Break my chair, Campbell, I dare you,” Lisa said in amusement as she entered Larry’s bedroom, a plate of cookies in hand.

“No, guys! I have an idea!” Ash exclaimed, disentangling herself from the chair and grabbing a handful of cookies. “What if we went undercover? Like spies. We could find out if stuff is going on with Travis!”

Larry scoffed, “How would we even do that? He hates us, why would he tell us his private life?”

“Well that’s why we’d go undercover, silly.”

“Undercover how?” Sal interrupted, reluctant to invade anyone’s privacy, but not nearly as much as he would be if it was anyone else.

“Well...” a devilish grin spread across Ash’s face, and she grabbed Lisa and Larry, spinning them around to form a small circle while Sal watched in amusement and slight fear.

After a few minutes of the three of them whispering amongst each other, along with a few outcries of “Ew!” and “That could work...” Lisa straightened, clapped her hands, and said, “As an adult, I don’t condone this. As Larry’s mother, I say this is the best plan you’ve come up with, Ashley.”

“Riiiight... what plan is this, exactly?” Sal asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Ash grinned.

“You’re just gonna have to find out.”

“Ash-“

“I have to go, my dad is getting home late tonight which means I’m in charge of dinner. Byeee!” Ash interrupted breezily, walking out and closing the door behind her.

Sal turned warily to Larry and Lisa, both of whom wore identical smirks.

“Will either of you care to tell me what plan you cooked up?”

Larry shook his head, still smiling, and Lisa took Sal by the shoulders and said, “Plan A isn’t even bad, Sal. Plan B and C get a bit worse, granted, but as a mom AND an adult, Plan A is pretty safe for you. Just hope that it works.”

“I’m sorry, you guys have a Plan B and C? Can you at least tell me what they are?”

“Well Plan C involves my mom’s Victoria’s Secret coupons that she got in the mail, but -“

“Larry Johnson, I thought we agreed not to freak Sal out -“

“What the FUCK do you mean Victoria’s Secret coupons??”

 

————

 

“Sal! Hey, can you wait up a minute?”

Sal shut his locker and turned around to see the teacher from the fight coming towards him - what was her name? Mrs. Alaina? Mrs. Andrea?

“Hey, Sal,” she said as she caught up with him, jogging the last few feet to fall into step behind him.

“I know yesterday’s fight was pretty hectic, and you probably don’t remember my name. Right?”

Sal nodded as they continued down the hallway, garnering a few curious stares from students, but for the most part being left alone, which Sal appreciated.

“Okay, I’m Mrs. Allison, I teach Advanced Biology and I’m co-sponsor of the Pride Club, which is how Todd and Neil know me.”

Sal nodded again and faintly smiled as he remembered how happy Todd and Neil had always seemed after the club meetings. Mrs. Allison had gorgeous coffee colored skin, and a light smattering of freckles sprinkled her cheeks. Her warm brown eyes distinctly reminded Sal of chocolate, and she granted him a small smile that told him not many people were lucky enough to be given one.

Sal liked her immediately.

“I think it’s great that you sponsor Pride - the two of them never shut up about it. Me, Ash, and Larry we thinking about joining, actually.”

“That would be amazing, honestly. New people are always welcome - we’re hoping to gather enough recruits that we can stage a revolt and overthrow the homophobic school board to start offering a class on LGBTQ+ History and Women’s Rights, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

“Hear what?”

“Exactly. Anyway, I didn’t flag you down just to talk pleasantries. I actually came to inform you that the-“ Mrs. Allison paused and looked at a bit of smudged writing on her hand, -“Esteemed Board of Magical And Total Equalness has come up with a punishment for you and Travis Phelps for the fight yesterday-“

“Hang on, why am I getting punished?? And is that even a real board?”

Mrs. Allison sighed, shrugged, and said, “Listen, bud, I don’t make the rules. It isn’t my fault that the Esteemed Board of Whatever the Fuck decided to do this. You either have to do what they say or have after school detention with Mrs. Packerton every day for two months.”

Sal whispered, “What the actual fuck,” before hearing a high pitched giggle come from his right.

_I know that fucking laugh._

His head whipped around to look for the source of said cackle, but the only strange thing he saw was that three of the neighboring trash cans seemed to have suddenly grown heads of hair - two long and brown, and one bushy and bright red.

Sal sighed and turned around.

“Okay, Mrs. Allison. What’s the ‘Esteemed Board Of ABSOLUTE JACKASSES WHO ARE CERTAINLY NO LONGER MY FRIENDS’ want me to do?”

“Harsh-“ he heard Larry whisper, and then “Ow!” as, Sal presumed, Ash elbowed his stomach.

Mrs. Allison stifled a small chuckle before saying, “Well, I’m not sure you’re going to agree to this, but...”

She leaned closer to whisper the rest into Sal’s ear.

Sal felt his heart drop down to his feet as he heard what Mrs. Allison was saying.

“What. The. Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! So school is picking up speed again after Winter Break, and me and my family just put in an offer on a house, so I’m terribly sorry if chapters are a bit short. I tried to make this one longer to compensate :) thank you all so much for the feedback!! It makes me so happy lol


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay, seriously? THIS is what you guys came up with?”

“Pretty genius plan, don’t you think?” Ash winked and held up her hand for a high five, not getting one.

Sal groaned and fell onto Larry’s bed, staring at the ceiling in dismay.

“Sal, it’ll be okay-“

“Okay?? What if he grabs my mask again? Larry, you went full Terminator on him because he ripped off my mask, and you want me to spend every school night for THREE MONTHS with him?”

“And a sleepover every other week!” Ash added cheerfully, playing with the edges of Larry’s Black Butler blanket.

“Just for the record, I was against this plan from the start, Sal,” Neil said, raising his hand as he peered over Todd’s shoulder.

“Listen, Sal, we won’t let anything happen to you, we promise,” Todd chimed in absentmindedly, not looking up from his homework.

Sal closed his eyes and breathed in, willing himself not to freak out. Of course he knew they would never let him get hurt on purpose, but...

“Sal. Hey. Look at me,” Ash soothed, sliding off the bed and sitting in front of Sal. Sal raised himself into an upright position and looked Ash in the eye, silently conveying his distress to her.

She raised her hands and grasped Sal’s shoulders, whispering, “I would never, EVER, let anything happen to you. We’re right over the phone if you need us, and if he goes psycho, we’ll terminate this whole thing, no questions asked. Okay?”

Sal nodded and mumbled back, “Pinky promise?”, the trace of a small smile in his voice as Ash locked her pinky with his outstretched one.

The two sat grinning at each other until Larry whispered, “That was the gayest thing I’ve seen since the three hour porn special on Brazzers.”

“Oh, you saw that too!” Todd exclaimed cheerfully, finally looking up at Larry with a beam on his face.

Neil abruptly spit out his coffee as Ash stood up and shrieked, “Ah-hA! I KNEW YOU TWO WATCHED THAT SHIT!”

“Only to... scientifically examine it??” Neil sputtered, backing up from Ash as she slowly prowled towards him with an evil gleam in her eyes.

“Scientifically examine? That’s not what you were saying when you asked me to sleep over last night-“ Todd said offhandedly, continuing to complete his homework without missing a beat, despite the conversation.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Larry exclaimed amidst snorts of laughter, “This conversation took a tURN!” Sal lost it at Neil’s terrified look as Ashley shrieked and jumped over Larry’s desk, somehow not ruffling any of Todd’s papers.

“Be careful, Neil,” Todd warned, continuing to scribble on his homework.

“Thanks, jackass!” Neil exclaimed, grabbing his stool in attempt to ward off Ash’s wild attacks. “Get! The! Fuck! Off! Of! Me!”

“YOU LIED TO ME, NEIL! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? TO US? I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL!”

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?! A tiny bit?”

“fUCK YOU-“

“Ash-“ Lisa poked her head through the door, a hand over the landline speaker. “Can you keep the murder down? I’m on the phone.”

“Sorry, Lisa!” Ash said cheerfully, and turned to Neil, who was still holding the stool aloft. “You got lucky,” she growled, making the “I’m watching you” motion with her hands.

Neil visibly gulped and set down the stool, prompting Lisa to say, “Okay, thank you so much!” and close the door.

“Well, with that out of the way... Operation Unlock Travis’ Deep Dark Secrets And Get Sal A Boyfriend is in progress!”

“How do you even pronounce that?”

“Can we just change it to Plan A?”

 

————

 

Sal smiled sheepishly at Mrs. Packerton as he handed in his test. He hadn’t MEANT to fall asleep, but he had stayed up all night before trying to figure out ways to get out of his “punishment”. However, knowing how steadfast Ash was, nothing had come to him. Sal yawned and turned away to go back to his desk, but he stumbled back as soon as he fully faced the front of the classroom. Travis was sitting and glaring at him with daggers in his eyes and his teeth bared, reminding Sal oddly of a wild dog, preparing himself for attack.

The bell rang and Sal rushed to his seat, eager to leave the classroom before having an encounter with Travis, but as he gathered his stuff and shoved it in his bag, he was aware of a presence standing over him, one seemingly radiating fury.

Sal stood up and, swinging his messenger bag over his shoulder, turned around to face Travis.

“Can I help you?” He asked cooly, causing Travis to growl and pin Sal to the desk, one arm on either side of his torso. Sal forcibly raised an eyebrow and dragged his line of sight from Travis’ arms to his chest in such an obvious manner that not even the mask could hide, causing Travis to flush red with anger and embarrassment. Thankfully, he moved his arms to cross his chest, and he cocked his hip out slightly as he stared at Sal with intensified fury in his gaze.

Sal sighed and, raising his hands, asked, “What did I do to offend his highness?”

Travis flushed even brighter red, now resembling the puce color of a tomato, and snapped, “Don’t get smart with me, loser. I don’t know what kind of plan you’re concocting in that freakish head of yours, but whatever it is, put it down, and find us a way to get out of this shit.”

Sal sighed. “Travis, what in the hell are you talking about?” He knew Travis had to be enraged because of the detention, but he didn’t understand why he was so-

Oh.

“Wait wait wait, you think I had something to do with this detention mess?!” Sal sputtered, waving his hands in between him and Travis’ chests.

“Why wouldn’t you? Everyone knows you’ve been trying to get into my pants for ages!” Travis spat, angling his body away from Sal’s.

“First of all, I would NEVER date you. Ever. Not even if you somehow turned gay and we were the last two people on Earth. Second of all-“

“Just shut up and find a way to put a stop to this,” Travis exclaimed, a waver entering his voice for the first time.

”You don’t think I’ve tried?!” Sal raged, pushing Travis’ chest back in his anger. “You don’t think I’ve tried to get myself out of this? Because believe me, I have! I’ve stayed up all night finding a way to escape this, because if there’s anybody who I would want to spend my nights with the least, it would be YOU!” Sal shoved Travis harder, causing him to spiral back into a row of desks, falling into one as it and him crashed to the floor.

Sal involuntarily reached out for Travis’ arms, but quickly pulled them back, instead opting to say, “Shit, man, I-“

“Don’t. Just- don’t,” Travis growled, looking Sal in the eye as his seemed to sparkle with - was that tears?

 _His_ _eyes_ _look_ _like_ _cornflowers_.

Sal shook his head and said, “Travis-“

“Don’t!”

A single tear fell from Travis’ eye, falling like a piece of shattered diamond down his cheek. Sal looked Travis in the eyes again, and saw something pleading in their oceanic depths.

“I, um, I have to go,” Sal muttered, breaking their gaze to look at the ground as he readjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder.

Travis scoffed and muttered, “Whatever,” swiveling on his heel and marching out of the classroom, leaving behind overturned chairs and one very confused Sal Fisher in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m So sorry for the glitch! this chapter is a bit shorter than the original one but unfortunately i can’t remember all of what i wrote. i hope you all enjoy it regardless! thank you for sticking with me!


	7. Chapter 7

_****Breathe_. _You_ _only_ _have_ _to_ _be_ _here_ _for_ _an_ _hour_. _Ash_ _is_ _right_ _over_ _the_ _phone_. _Everything_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _okay_. _All_ _you_ _have_ _to_ _do_ _is_ _bring_ _yourself_ _to_ -

Knock, knock!

Sal startled and glanced at the window to find Travis sitting just inside with a bored expression on his face.

“Are you coming in or not?” He mouthed, rolling his eyes at Sal. Sal flushed and gestures furiously towards the door handle, mouthing back, “It’s locked!”

Travis slid off the couch back he had been perched on and disappeared from view as he came to the door. Sal could hear his feet padding as he unlocked the door and swung it open, bringing the two face-to-face for the first time since the classroom incident earlier.

Sal cleared his throat awkwardly and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Travis raised his eyebrows skeptically, but Sal’s voice continued to refuse to come back and salvage the situation.

“Alllllllright then,” Travis drawled, holding the door open wider. “Again, you coming in?”

“Travis!” Sal blurted out as he stepped through the door. Mentally facepalming, he backpedaled quickly as Travis scoffed, and said in a calmer tone, “Travis. Can we talk about earlier?”

“What about earlier?” Travis asked, shutting the door behind Sal and crossing his arms in his typical stance.

“You know,” Sal gestured vaguely between them and muttered, “Chairs?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Travis replied cooly before turning around and stalking off.

Sal gave up and followed him into the kitchen and up a set of stairs to a closed door covered in posters of Playboy girls and cars. Sal raised his eyebrows at the sight, but chose not to say anything.

Travis paused, his hand on the doorknob, and turned back around to face Sal.

“I’m inviting you into my room. You’re going to come in, sit down, and do homework for the next hour. Do not talk to me. Got it?”

Sal rolled his eyes, but chose to agree rather than argue.

“Got it, grumpy.”

Travis rolled his eyes back, and then swung open his door to let them both in. Sal walked in cautiously, expecting more half-naked women lounging on things, but he was surprised (pleasantly? he wasn’t sure) by the lack of said women. In fact, there was a considerable lack of... anything on the walls. All that Travis really had in his room was a bed, desk, and bookshelf. The bed was shabby, one desk leg was shorter than the other three and required two books to even it out (IT by Steven King and The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan), and one of the shelved on his bookcase was broken down the middle.

“What?” Travis asked accusingly when he saw Sal looking around the room.

“Nothing,” Sal said, raising his hands in the air. “Just figured there’d be more naked women on the walls, since you’re such a manly man.”

Travis scoffed, pointed to the desk. “Sit. Stay. Silent.”

Sal rolled his eyes, but walked over to the desk and sat down, pulling out his history book and journal. He heard a creaking as Travis settled into his bed and the rustling of papers from behind him. Then the sound of music came from what sounded like Travis’ headphones, and Sal swiveled around in surprise.

“Dude, is that Roxanne?”

Travis warranted Sal a glance and a slight raise of eyebrows in surprise. “You listen to Chase Atlantic?”

“Yeah! The Nostalgia EP was the best, in my opinion - all of the songs are amazing.”

Travis slowly nodded, sitting up a bit and leaning back. “I expected you to have shittier music taste - good job, Fisher.”

Sal rolled his eyes and swiveled back to his homework, shaking his head. The one time he actually relates to the guy, and Travis is just a jerk about it. Figures.

Sal worked silently for a moment, before the sound of Travis’ throat clearing came from behind him. “So, uh... which song was your favorite? From the EP?”

A small smile, a whisper of a thing, spread over Sal’s face and he replied, “Probably Vibe or Roxanne. You?”

A beat of silence passed before he heard a reply : “Meddle About or Roxanne.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah.”

The smile grew as Sal bent over his work again.

——

“So you talked about a band for five minutes and that was it? You just didn’t speak for the rest of the time?”

“I’m not going to become friends with him, Ash. He’s been too much of an asshat, and I KNOW he hates me.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT GUYS i am SO sorry for the super long hiatus. i’m not in the best mental place rn; i just got out of a long term relationship and i moved to a different state again. i also got my first job and am going into my second year of high school, so shit is crazy rn. i’m so so sorry again for the wait, and i hope you enjoy these next two chapters!! i have no clue when i’ll be uploading again, because as of right now, my schedule is pretty much fucked, BUT i’ll try to keep a consistent one. thank you all!!!


	8. Chapter 8

Sal knocked on Travis’ door and sighed (inside he was screaming bloody murder but he wasn’t about to let Travis’ bitch ass notice). At least it was Friday, and he got two days of sweet, sweet relief before having to tackle another meeting with Travis on Monday after school. He heard a familiar padding come from inside the door, and it swung open.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” Sal blurted out, before clapping his hand over his mouth. Travis attempted to roll his eyes, but winced and raised an ice pack to his face. He looked like he had gotten beat up by a pack of strongmen -over all of his old bruises from his showdown with Larry, there were more prominent black and purple bruises, and there was a long cut down the side of his face. Sal could tell it was all recent, as most of the bruises were still yellow around the edges.

“None of your business, Fisher,” Travis mumbled before turning away and stalking off. Sal took this as his cue to follow, and hurriedly started taking off his shoes, attempting to shut the door behind him at the same time and falling over.

“Can you try not being a complete disaster for five minutes, please?” Travis’ voice called from his bedroom, and Sal scrambled up to run after him.

“Travis, dude, you gotta tell me what happened- who did that?” Sal asked again with genuine concern as he reached the bedroom, pausing in the open door. Travis was already sitting on his desk, studiously working. (he wondered why he was concerned but it didn’t matter much, did it? As long as Travis was okay.) (Why did it matter of Travis was okay?)

“None.. Of.. Your.. Business,” Travis growled through gritted teeth, refusing to look up from his homework. “Now are you going to sit, or what?”

Sal waited for a moment to see if Travis would say much else, but after a few minutes, sighed and moved to the desk. He yanked out his stuff and moved to start working before getting interrupted by Travis’ voice.

“Why do you care, anyway?”

Sal spun around in the desk chair to face Travis, who had paused in his homework to look at him. He looked a bit comical, with one eye swollen shut and a pencil dangling from his fingers, but Sal didn’t feel like laughing.

“I don’t really know...” Sal trailed off, dropping his eyes and spinning in the chair slowly. “I’m just worried.”

Travis scoffed and moved back to his homework. “Sal Fisher? Worried about me? What an honor.”

Sal flushed and said, “Hey, man, I was just checking -“

“Well, don’t! Okay!! I don’t need your concern,” Travis snapped back, slamming his notebook shut to make eye contact with Sal. The same piercing blue eyes started at Sal, but this time, instead of calming him down, they only enraged him.

 _How_ _could_ _anyone_ _ever_ _hurt_ _someone_ _so_ _beau_ -

“Can you stop staring at me, please? God, you’re being weird,” Travis said, and with that comment, Sal snapped.

“I’m just trying to CHECK on you! Jesus fucking christ Travis, you’re impossible! You’ve been an asshole to me for all of these years, and I’ve tried to give you chance after chance after chance, and you’ve just pushed me away! I don’t know what the fuck you want from me anymore!” Sal exclaimed, standing up from the chair and sending it rolling across the floor. He grasped his hair and tugged at it, trying his hardest to calm down a bit.

“Get out.”

“What?”

Sal looked over at Travis, who’s head was bent over. His finger was pointed at the door and his long, shaggy hair masked his face, making it impossible for Sal to read his emotions.

“Travis-“

“I said GET OUT.”

Sal sighed before gathering his stuff and throwing it into his bag haphazardly. He didn’t know what to do about Travis, just that he was done for the day. Travis moved up to open the door for him, and Sal moved to leave, shoving things into his messenger bag as he went. He had almost made it out the door before-

BAM!

He found himself go whirling back into Travis’ room as something pulled him back. He stumbled and attempted to right himself before finding his footing, only to straighten up and realize he was chest to chest with Travis. The two were nose to plastic nose, eyes connected. Travis’ searched Sal’s, as if looking for the answer to some profound question only Sal knew the solution to.

Sal couldn’t help but notice his breath quickening, and the action being mimicked by Travis. They were so close together Sal could have counted every freckle sprinkled across Travis’ nose if he wanted to - and god, they looked like stars-

Sal cleared his throat and stepped back, looking for the thing that had whirled him back to Travis. His bag strap was wrapped around the doorknob and appeared to be the reason he had been yanked back.

“Um,” Sal cleared his throat again and unwrapped the strap, hooking it over his shoulder and moving away. “Strap.”

“Okay,” Travis whispered hoarsely and nodded.

“Okay, bye!” Sal exclaimed, walking out of the room in a hurry. He raced out of the house at full speed and didn’t stop running until he was two blocks away from the house. He slowed down, panting, and took a small break to lean against a wall and think.

What the fuck was that?

——

“Yeah, bye Sal,” Travis muttered, alone in his room. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and his hopes raised slightly, but the booming voice that accompanied the footsteps just sent them crashing down.

“TRAVIS! Who the FUCK was that?”


	9. Chapter 9

Heyyyyyy, Sal!” Josh exclaimed, gesturing Sal into the art room excitedly, “Look at what we’re working on today!”

“Hey, Josh,” Sal smiled and entered the room, walking over to look at the easel Josh was working at. Josh was the school’s art teacher- he had recently gotten out of college and claimed that he didn’t feel responsible for his life just yet, and that the kids shouldn’t call him “Mister” or “Sir” until he did. Sal wasn’t in art- he was more of a music person- but Ash was, and she had asked him to pick up her sketchbook for her before school started.

“Jesus christ, Josh, that’s amazing!” Sal exclaimed, letting his eyes roam over the painting Josh was proudly standing next to. It was a beautiful watercolor of a sunset over a black silhouette of a house on a cliff overlooking a beach. It was clear Josh had put a lot of time into the painting, and by the way he was beaming at it, he was very proud of it-with good reason.

“Thanks, man. My classes have been focusing on watercolors of landscapes with the silhouette of something or someone painted with a darker hue of a color used in the original landscape-“

“I have no clue what you’re saying.”

Josh laughed and slapped Sal on the back. “That’s okay, man. Now, what brings you to my empty room of tears and creativity?”

“Ash sent me for her sketchbook again,” Sal said, and Josh sighed and began weaving his way through the mess of half-painted easels to the back of the room.

“You know, I should probably just start having this ready for you every morning,” Josh admitted, his voice slowly getting quieter as he moved through the room. Sal chuckled to himself and waited at the front of the room for Josh to return, not trusting himself to successfully move through the room and avoid knocking any easels down.

Sal linked his hands behind his back and rocked from his heels to his toes, back and forth, looking around the room. From what he could see of the easels around the room, the kids in art were talented- one painting caught his eye in the front row, closest to him, and he stepped forward to get a closer look at it. He smiled softly when he realized it was Ash’s- her painting also had a sunset background, but rather than beachside scenery as her silhouette, she had the outline of a crowd of people holding signs. He bent down to look at what appeared to be her sketch, pinned to the watercolor, and saw she was planning to paint a protest- in the sketch, the signs said things like “Black Lives Matter” and “Fuck White Supremacy!” Sal smiled again, stood up again, and stepped back, accidentally knocking into another easel. He hurriedly spun around and grabbed it, just saving it from knocking down the rest of the row.

Sal breathed a sigh of relief, righting the easel. He noticed the painting perched upon it and slowly maneuvered his body so he was right in front of the painting, bending down to peer at it. The watercolor was one of a beautiful night sky, painted with stars and all different hues of blues, purples, and pinks, and there was a half painted silhouette of two people- a girl with pigtails and a guy with shaggy hair- sitting on the ground, against a red and orange planet in the center of the painting. Sal looked for a name on it, but before he could find one, he was interrupted by Josh’s voice.

“Hey, bud!”

Sal swiftly turned around and noticed Josh, back at the front of the room, holding Ash’s sketchbook in hand.

“Oh, thanks Josh,” Sal smiled in relief and went back over to him, grabbing his bag and the sketchbook from Josh.

“No problem, dude. Was that all you needed?”

“Yeah, but actually, I wanted to ask- who’s doing the galaxy watercolor in the front row? Next to Ash?”

“The one with the couple as the silhouette? Yeah, it’s a gorgeous piece, isn’t it? That’s actually Travis Phelps. Do you know him?” Josh asked. Sal, taken aback, could only nod.

“He’s one of my most talented students for sure... he’s got a lot to say.”

Sal thought about that for a moment, and there was a beat of slightly awkward silence before Josh broke it with a laugh, and said, “Well, I’ll see you later. Take it easy, Sal.”

Sal snapped out of it, smiled hesitantly, and replied, “Bye, Josh,” before spinning on his heel and leaving the classroom.

Walking down the hallway, he thought about what Josh had told him- “ _He’s_ _got_ _a_ _lot_ _to_ _say_ ”- and failed to pay attention to where he was going, soon bumping into a warm body and sending them both to the ground.

“Ouch!” Travis said, rubbing his forehead and glaring at Sal. “Dude, watch it.”

“Sorry man, I wasn’t paying attention-“

“Yeah, obviously,” Travis snarked back, grabbing his stuff and getting back up. Sal heard the sound of his footsteps walking away and sighed, beginning to shove his journals back into his bag, as they had fallen out in the crash. He looked around for Ash’s sketchbook as he stood up, unable to find it, before-

“Here,” Travis said from behind him, and Sal whirled around to meet Travis’ outstretched hand, holding Ash’s sketchbook.

“T-Thanks,” Sal whispered, reaching to grab it from him. Their fingers brushed as he took it, and Sal’s head bolted up to make eye contact with Travis. They both stayed in that position- holding the journal together, just looking at each other- before jumping and breaking eye contact at the sound of a locker slamming shut in the next hallway over.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later, then,” Travis said, turning to leave, and Sal found himself jumping forward and grabbing his shoulder.

“Wait!”

Travis turned around, eyebrows raised, and Sal flushed, thankful that his mask hid his face.

“I meant, uh- I saw your watercolor. In art.”

“Oh,” Travis said quietly. “Okay?”

“It’s really good,” Sal blurted out before

mentally facepalming himself. “I just mean- you’re really good at art. I didn’t know that.”

“Oh,” Travis said again, visibly relaxing. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Who’s the couple?” Sal couldn’t help but ask. He noticed Travis inhale quickly and stiffen a bit, and regretted asking, but then Travis only shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

“Sorry, what?”

“There is no couple. It was just wishful thinking,” Travis said so Sal could hear him.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Yeah...”

The two stood in awkward silence for a few minutes longer, both simply staring at the floor, before Sal cleared his throat and said, “Um, well, I have to go-“

“Yeah, me too-“

“Okay, bye-“

“Yeah, see you, Sal.”

And then Travis spun on his heel and walked away, leaving Sal standing there, holding Ash’s journal loosely and thoughts jumbled. He found himself smiling softly, however, and he slowly mouthed the words spiraling throughout his brain at the moment, as soft and tentative as the touch of a butterfly when it lands-

_He called me Sal._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dear god,  
> why can’t i write fanfiction

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Sally Face fanfic. For the love of god, please criticize me.
> 
> Updates every Saturday!


End file.
